-My uncle's funeral was Nov. 26, 2010. I want to share his eulogy with you to give you a better understanding of who my uncle was and what he meant to those who knew him.

This is a picture of M'Nonc and his niece Marielle Hamon. She helped me write Michel's eulogy.

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If you’re here, it’s because of gestures of genuine kindness, love and an appreciation of life’s simple pleasures. If you’re here, it’s because Michel Hamon touched you, appreciated you, loved you and found an infinite number of ways to tell you how he felt.

Everyone is known for something. Or maybe another way to put it is that everyone has something, but Michel had so much more. He was the kindest person I know and he was also the most generous. He loved the simple pleasures of life like no other. I don’t know anyone whose daily life included more ceremonies or rituals.

His work ethic was beyond exemplary. He gave the warmest and most sincere hugs. He was the most willing to help those who needed it and the least willing to ask for it himself. He was the best person he needed to be for everyone. What’s more, he was my hero.

Who more than M’Nonc Mitch taught us how to live with the boundless enthusiasm of a child? He loved his family and friends with rare passion and left his indelible mark on everyone he met. In the end, I don’t know anyone who was a better uncle to more people.

I tried to think of all his qualities and I hoped to remember them all because I was afraid someone might come up to me after the funeral and say that I had forgotten something. Then I realized that it is impossible to list his multitude of qualities. I hope that I forgot some so that people do remind me after the service. I hope that I forgot some so that we can remember his qualities and share Michel’s stories, together and forever. Let’s remember those stories and laugh, because so many of Uncle Mitch’s stories involve laughter.

Michel worked at the shop and at the liquor board, but he was in the business of living, and M’Nonc lived life to its fullest. Now that he’s retired, we can look back at his short and brilliant career and think of all the hard work he put into making our lives better – that is his greatest accomplishment, his life’s work: he made all of us better.

We didn’t get to say good-bye to M’Nonc Mitch and if we all were given the time we needed to do so, Michel would have lived another 100 years.

So together, let’s all say good-bye to M’Nonc. I’ll count 1, 2, 3, and then all together we’ll say, “Bye M’Nonc.” And if you want to wave good-bye also, please feel free to do so.